Leftists frequently refer to themselves and others as the left. This is vague to the point of being useless. Often, what is meant by being left is being paying lip-service to being anti-capitalist--without in reality doing anything to oppose the power of the class of employers as such, either ideologically or in practice. A good … Continue reading The Radical Left Underestimate the Ideological Power of Employers and Overestimate Their Own Ideological Struggle
Tag: NDP
A Worker’s Resistance to the Capitalist Government or State and Its Representatives, Part Seven: Complaint Against the Winnipeg Child and Family Services with the Manitoba Ombudsman
Introduction As I indicated in my last post, my substantial complaint to the Manitoba Institute of Registered Social Workers (MIRSW) against a social worker, Wayne Ashley, was dismissed without really considering the nature of the complaint. Of course, Francesca, my daughter, was still being physically abused by her mother. I pursued the issue by filing … Continue reading A Worker’s Resistance to the Capitalist Government or State and Its Representatives, Part Seven: Complaint Against the Winnipeg Child and Family Services with the Manitoba Ombudsman
The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Four: The Myth of Creating Socialist Spaces
Professor Noonan, an academic leftist, argues that the Nemak return to work provides lessons for the left. Indeed, it does--but unfortunately he fails to draw further lessons from the situation. He says the following: As regards work, the structural dependence on paid employment is what makes people working class. This structural dependence is what, above … Continue reading The Poverty of Academic Leftism, Part Four: The Myth of Creating Socialist Spaces
What Kind of Organization or Structure does an Anti-Capitalist Struggle Require?
The following is a critical look at a leftist conference held on April 26, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, entitled Building Solidarity Against Austerity. Session 3. Fighting Austerity Today. Specifically, it looks critically at the presentation by Dave Bush, a leftist activist in Toronto, who argues that it is necessary to create an organization for … Continue reading What Kind of Organization or Structure does an Anti-Capitalist Struggle Require?
A Short List of the Largest Private Employers in Canada, According to Profit
When belonging to a leftist organization called the Toronto Labour Committee (Ontario, Canada), I worked on, in a minor position, on some statistics related to financial campaign contributions for the Toronto elections. Not being satisfied with this, I proposed that we start trying to develop a class analysis of Toronto. I indicated, though, that I … Continue reading A Short List of the Largest Private Employers in Canada, According to Profit
An Example of the Inadequacy of the Canadian Left, or How the Canadian Left Contributes to the Emergence of the Canadian Right
On Facebook, a social-reformist leftist posted the fact that the Ontario Conservative government, headed by the right-wing millionaire Doug Ford, had eliminated the position of Ontario Child Advocate Office, integrating it with the Ombudsman's Office. The person had attached the comment "Shameful". A subsequent comment objected to the fact that the man who filled the … Continue reading An Example of the Inadequacy of the Canadian Left, or How the Canadian Left Contributes to the Emergence of the Canadian Right
Ontario Looks Right–With Some Help From the “Left”
Most of the following was written over six years ago. It is still relevant. Herman Rosenfeld recently wrote an article on the election of the right-wing government of Doug Ford in Ontario, Canada (Ontario Looks Right). I would like to take issue with some of his analysis, specifically in relation to unions (and, to a … Continue reading Ontario Looks Right–With Some Help From the “Left”
Ontario Election of Conservatives: Will the Social-Reformist Left Learn?
Leer este post en español The following was written over six years ago. The next election saw the "Progressive" Conservatives elected once again--and the following election again. The article still applies--to the social-reformist left. Now that the "Progessive" Conservatives have won a clear majority of seats in the provincial legislature, should not the social-reformist left … Continue reading Ontario Election of Conservatives: Will the Social-Reformist Left Learn?
Management Rights, Part One: Private Sector Collective Agreement, British Columbia
Leer este post en español The following was written over six years ago. It is still relevant today. Social reformists or social democrats still ignore the fact of employer power in the form of managerial rights. The radical left has little to say about the issue either. In Ontario, Canada, there will be an election … Continue reading Management Rights, Part One: Private Sector Collective Agreement, British Columbia
The Abolitionary 